Entries in almonds
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A while ago I caught an episode of Martha Bakes where she made a Baltimore Peach

Cake. It looked lovely, old fashioned, and cozy. I immediately wanted one.

Well, peaches aren’t in season at the moment, but it’s fall and apples are. So an Apple Slab Cake with Toasted Almonds & Honey was the dessert du jour.

The “cake” itself has a bread like texture with just a hint of buttery sweetness. It’s more dense, less fluffy than a traditional batter cake and, as I said, not as sweet.

I tossed apple slices with sugar and apple pie spice (like an apple pie filling) then layered them on top of the cakey dough.

This is an easy cake to make, but not a quick one. The dough/cake needs two rises, each a few hours. It’s a good rainy day project when you’re not in a hurry to “let them eat cake,” but want to try an old traditional (Baltimore Peach Cake has been around since 1884) recipe, that’s something new to make and delicious to taste.

Whisk flour, salt and 3 tablespoons sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add milk mixture and “stir/knead” about 5 minutes, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Add butter piece by piece and continue to “stir/knead” until the dough is smooth and the butter is incorporated, about 5-6 minutes.

Transfer to buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 1-1 ½ hours, until doubled.

Line a 13”x9” rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, butter paper. Punch down dough, and pat into prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour until dough is level with the pan’s sides.

Toss apple slices with sugars and apple pie spice, stir to make sure all slices are coated in mixture.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange apples on dough, slightly overlapping in rows or any other pattern you prefer. Bake until edges of cake are golden brown, 40-45 minutes (check after 30 minutes), and the center is set. Do not over bake or the bottom will be burnt and tough.

Brush apples with honey when still warm, sprinkle with almonds. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then slide cake out and continue cooling on rack. Cut in squares to serve.